The TNT Tropang 5G carved a place in history as the fifth team in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) history to defeat a twice-to-beat No. 1 seed. Led by giant Bol Bol, the No. 8 seed TNT defeated the No. 1 NLEX Road Warriors, 118-112, on Saturday evening, May 16, 2026, in a do-or-die game at the Ynares Center in Antipolo to complete the upset win in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup quarterfinals.
Earlier, TNT had beaten NLEX, 96-93, on Wednesday to force a deciding game on Saturday. TNT showed its full strength under Bol's leadership, who posted 35 points and 13 rebounds, while Roger Pogoy contributed 21 points, Calvin Oftana added 20, and Jayson Castro chipped in 13 points.
With the victory, TNT secured its fifth straight semifinal appearance and kept alive its mission to defend the Commissioner's Cup title. TNT head coach Chot Reyes emphasized the completeness of their lineup in the quarterfinals, which allowed them to overcome a strong NLEX team. "We finally get the lineup we wanted on the floor. This is the first time this conference Roger started a game. He came off an injury and we managed his minutes early on. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser also came off an injury. When we managed to bring everybody in, that's big in our turnaround," Reyes said.
Cebuano shooter Pogoy expressed that they needed to support big man Bol, and that is what they did in the quarterfinals. "We need to step up, it can't just be Bol. Early on in the tournament, we struggled because it was only Bol," Pogoy said.
The other four teams that accomplished what TNT did are Northport Batang Pier (2019 Governors' Cup), Powerade Tigers (2011-2012 Philippine Cup), San Miguel Beermen (2002 Governors' Cup), and Barangay Ginebra (1999 All-Filipino Cup).
The semifinals are now set. TNT will face Meralco Bolts, while Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings will battle Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in a best-of-seven series starting Wednesday.
